Where have all the Labour Remainers gone?

The move signals a change of approach by the party, says John Rentoul – don’t mention the B-word

Emily Thornberry speaks during a People’s Vote rally in Brighton in September (AFP)

Emily Thornberry was allowed out by Labour handlers to do an interview with the Daily Mirror on Tuesday. The shadow foreign secretary said she was “not hiding”, but that her media appearances were a decision for the party.

All the same, her absence from the front rank of the election campaign has been noticed. Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, has had an even lower profile. As the two strongest advocates of remaining in the EU, the two have been eclipsed by John McDonnell, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Richard Burgon as the supporting acts to headliner Jeremy “Neutral” Corbyn.

In the seven-way TV debates, Long-Bailey and Burgon both hedged their position on Brexit, saying they would wait to see what kind of deal a Labour government negotiated before deciding whether to campaign for or against it in the referendum promised within six months of an election victory.